Been a minute since I’ve had "a moment". Life is full. Writing gets pushed to the background amidst all that fills my days. Thank you to those of you who bug me to keep writing. You know who you are and I appreciate you!
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Stuart Smalley was a 1990s Saturday Night Live character created and enacted by comedian and satirist Al Franken. Week after week Stuart would invite one of the guests to his Daily Affirmations with Stuart Smalley self-help show to work through their personal issues. He would always end the show by sitting in front of the mirror and saying to his reflection “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and doggone it, people like me.”
Michael and I view life a little differently. Many times over the nearly 30 years we've been married, while I'm busy identifying everything that went wrong, he is identifying the positives in every situation. I'm thinking about all the ways things didn't go the way we hoped they would, and he is looking at everything we learned. I'm rehearsing what we haven't yet achieved, while he is able to remember and keep in perspective everything we have achieved. I often get stuck in the weeds, while he usually remembers the big picture and can put things in context.
The thought occurred to me this morning that I had no idea what Boxing Day is actually about. While I moved to the USA as a 7 year old, I'm English so people expect me to know. When I was young someone told me that it was just about putting things away the day after Christmas. You know, boxing it all up! Not sure if dad told me that or someone else. Not sure if someone was just trying to get me to clean up, or maybe just joking, but I took it for granted that this was the truth and never looked into it until today. Awkward!
Wonder and awe. Sometimes these are harder to come by as we get older. The sheer amazement of not knowing how something happened, yet willingly trusting it did. The wonder of seeing something new and unexpected. Everything about the story of Jesus being born forces us to suspend belief. To lay aside the constant need to explain things rationally. To believe in miracles and marvels and majesty.
Of all the characters in the Christmas story, Joseph is a pretty big deal, don't you think? Husband to Mary, earthly father to Jesus, master carpenter, protector and provider.
Ever been picked dead last for a team? Worst nightmare for junior high kids everywhere. The waiting to be picked. The hoping and praying that you won't be the last one, the one nobody wanted but somebody had to take.
I woke up this morning early with a myriad of thoughts running through my mind. Among them was the question of this "moments" site that I have not turned my attention to in a very long time. The question of re-engaging is not simple after 2 years of silence. Who will read this? Will anyone care? What's the point? And yet, here I am writing because if I'm going to start again, why not now?
It seems like almost every blog or post I read is working hard to encourage me that we will all make it through 2020. That life will go on and that there are a ton of reasons to be optimistic. That the global pandemic has forced creativity and in many ways I will look back and be grateful. That I need to stay engaged and continue to embrace change and be willing to keep pivoting.
